Dedicated to gravestone research and photography, personal family history, technology and research ideas. Guided by my inner light, I strive to help others enjoy their ancestors. Charter Member of the Gravestone Rabbits.

Friday, February 17, 2012

This is one of my favorite gravestones. Ira greets me every time I go to the lovely Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, CT. This simple monument, next to his parents, tells me quite a lot about Ira but it is the things that are left out that worries me each time I go to the cemetery. Ira was my first cousin, 3x removed.

As you can see, Ira's parents are listed. But, there is no wife next to him on the other side. It tells me that he was born in 1859 and died in 1922. So, what else is there to know?

The Barbour Index of Vital Records for Stonington ends with the year 1854 so it is a good thing that the Denison genealogy lists his date of birth [#4323 page 149] as 5 June 1859. There is no death date but he is listed as unmarried.

Today, when I entered him into my tree at Ancestry.com, I immediately got a hint for the new beta City Directories for Mystic, Connecticut for 1923. Even before I looked at the page, I knew that I was going to see a date of death for Ira. I was not disappointed. Ira died on 10 May 1922 in Mystic as you see here by this clip of the page for surname NOYES.

This was the only city directory that was found by the automatic hint. But, as I have searched many city directories before, I knew that there would be more and between these and the census records, I will find out more about Ira. I would like to find out his occupation and where he was living when he died.

4 comments:

Amen to that, Midge! Seems as though that's what I've been focusing on the last two weeks, while working my maternal grandfather's lineage. The one that grieves me most is the couple that had 12 children and lost 9 of them in infancy.

It also makes you realize how lucky you are to be here-- if ancestor X hadn't been the only survivor in a family, I wouldn't be here...

Author of this Blog

Retired professional genealogist specializing in gravestone photography, cemetery research and technology as it applies to genealogy. Author or co-author of ten books on educational technology and avid reader of mystery e-books. Wife, mother and grandmother too.